Statewide turnout was expected to be low as voting in a rare August primary began Tuesday, but two competitive races to pick Minnesota congressional challengers were generating interest in the northeastern and southern parts of the state.

People across the state head to the polls on Tuesday to vote in Minnesota’s primary election. It’s a vital step in the 2012 campaign as the results will decide which match-ups we’ll see on the ballot in November.

Democrats seeking a northeastern Minnesota congressional seat waited for workers to end shifts at mines and mills and invaded restaurants Monday in a final push for votes ahead of a too-close-to-call primary.

After being swept into office on a tea party tide, Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack is now portraying himself as a middle-of-the-road lawmaker as he tries to keep his job in a northeastern Minnesota district with a long tradition of electing Democrats.

Former Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson is aiming to make local connections count for more than money as he competes with two fellow Democrats for the right to challenge GOP U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack in a nationally watched congressional race.

The attorney for a man who says he was sexually abused decades ago by a now-deceased priest at a Wisconsin school for the deaf alleged Sunday that the Vatican refused to be served with a lawsuit over the matter.